The Dungeon Inn - English

B01C33 - Heat of the kitchen

There was a lot going on the day the reinforcements arrived. Not only could you hear a lot of noise from above, it was also quite loud down here. The men set up the guest cave for patient care and brought in some materials. In the main cave, the cooks were getting ready because, unlike the paramedics, they had to deliver something today. And one thing was certain. They weren't very impressed with my equipment.

"What is this supposed to be here? I thought we were coming to a Inn. On the way I heard, that it was in a cave, but what kind of equipment is that? The only things that can be used are probably the pan and the cooking pot. You can forget the rest."

"Oi boss, look at this knife here. I wouldn't even give that to my son to train at home."

"Luckily we didn't rely on finding everything prepared here. Put all the junk in the side cave. Let the residents bring it into their oh-so-holy space. It's just in our way up here."

Not only were we allowed to bring all the supplies down, but also our laboriously manufactured equipment. Luckily, because of all the hustle and bustle that was going on upstairs, we didn't have that much to transport and the corridor downstairs was wide enough, so that we could transport the improvised tables without any problems. Karl had also taken a position at the entrance to the corridor, so that no one would even think of trying to go deeper. When we were finished, I went to the chefs.

"Can I help you in any way? I usually prepare all my meals here."

The head chef turned to me and grinned widely.

"Who would have thought that we would find a volunteer to peel potatoes so quickly. Hey Sebastian, show the new guy, how it's done."

"Yes Boss."

Sebastian showed me the large pile of potatoes, that we were supposed to work our way through. He also explained to me various tricks, that should make the job a little easier. At first I had a bit of a hard time with it, but I soon got the hang of it. However, I couldn't keep up with Sebastian's speed. I also soon realized, why the boss was so happy, to have found someone. It was tedious, boring work. Sebastian didn't seem to mind. To alleviate the boredom, I used the time and asked him various things related to cooking, which he was happy to answer. It also turned out, that he was part of the adventurers. They often prepared stew for larger missions. They were usually not skilled cooks and stew was something very simple and sufficient for the purpose. However, because we had a commander from the prince with us, this simple kitchen was not sufficient and somewhat more experienced cooks came along. These should provide a little more high-quality food for those in higher positions. The common adventurers or low-ranking soldiers would only get the classic simple stew. I guess, even if my cooking skills aren't perfect, what I offered the adventurers was a certain luxury.

"We're done with the potatoes, maybe I can help out with a dish."

"Hah, a caveman like you doesn't know anything about cooking. Nope nope, you'll do the vegetables next. When you're done with that, bug Sebastian, I have to concentrate on my own work here and I don't have time for you."

The chef examined the potatoes that we had peeled very carefully and picked out some of them. Afterwards a small group of chefs came and picked out a few good ones. The rest was then pushed to the humble adventurer cooks, who simply cut them up and added them to their stew without further examination.

Sebastian and I chopped various vegetables, which I had Sebastian explain to me. So not just how to prepare it, but what you should use it for. Even though he was just a simple cook, who wasn't even allowed to take part in the preparation, he still knew a lot and was happy to answer my questions. We then gave the finished cut vegetables back to the small group of chefs to select. The chef didn't want to have anything to do with us anymore and prepared his own vegetables.

"Why doesn't the chef take any of our vegetables?"

"Ah, the chef only has to cook for one person. We brought a magician with us from the city and he wouldn't settle for food for the higher-ups here. I've also heard rumors, where he set someone on fire, because the food he prepared was too substandard."

"Oi you rats, talk less, work more!"

Apparently the chef didn't want to hear about it. But it's understandable, that he didn't want a beginner to prepare it. The potatoes were probably the only thing, where he would accept the preparatory work. But what should I think about the fact, that a magician was here? Sarah had informed me, that mana flows through the walls. She is the only one of us, who knows magic. So if she can see it, does that mean every magician can see it? If so, then the magician must not come near the cave or unpleasant questions would arise.

I couldn't think about it any longer as the cooks began their dishes and the many fires slowly warmed the cave even further above the already summery temperatures. But it wasn't just the temperatures that bothered me. I also kept a close eye on the individual actors, so that I might learn a thing or two. Of course I also used Sebastian's here. If he didn't know the answer, I asked the cooks myself, but most of them just shoo me away. They already had enough to do and didn't need any questions. But some were happy to take the time and explain things to me. Most of the time it was during monotonous activities, so the stew cooks were particularly willing to talk. Here and there were calls, that something else was needed and then I had to act quickly with Sebastian, so there wasn't that much time to talk, because we had to hurry to get everyone the necessary things. But we weren't the only ones under pressure. Some of the chefs also had to listen to how incompetent they were.

In the evening I fell into bed very tired and who would have thought what I would oversleep.